Exercise 2.2

1/320, f5.0, ISO 200, 24mm, Pattern

1/800, f8.0, ISO 200, 300mm, Pattern

Here are my 2 images somewhat at the extremes. On the left is an image with a 24mm lens and on the right a 300mm lens. The cameras were mounted on a tripod with the subject only moving slightly as can be seen from the angle of the subject’s shoulders.

The closeness of a wide-angle lens to the subject introduces facial distortion (and chest too but this is harder to see), in so much as the features bulge towards the viewer. Secondly the space between the subject and the back ground has opened up and appears further away than it actually is. This is not a nice use of a wide angle lens and does not provide a life-like portrait.

In the second image the lighting has changed due to the angle of the sun (and the fun I had with my Dad), but this is a more natural shot and more pleasing on the eye. The subject appears to confirm to normal perspective rules and looks more like you would expect. The background has been brought closer to the subject due to the longer lens closing down the space.

Each shot takes on a different meaning, with the longer lens confirming more of what you would class as aesthetically pleasing for a portrait. The wider angled lens does let you place the subject more easily as the background has been opened up, but this isn’t a look I would generally want with a serious portrait. Although it may get a viewer to spend more time looking at the image as it would be unusual and the background may hold some interest for the viewer.

 

Exercise 2.7

Maximum depth of field

I have used my widest angle of 24mm for the shots and the smallest aperture. I have had to crank up the ISO to 2500 in all of the images.  These images give a totally different feeling to those of exercise 2.6 as you are tempted into looking all around the images to see what you can see of interest and how this makes you feel.

1/15, f22, ISO 2500,24 mm, Centre Weighted

1/15, f22, ISO 2500,24 mm, Centre Weighted

1/8, f22, ISO 2500,24 mm, Centre Weighted

1/4, f22, ISO 2500,24 mm, Centre Weighted

1/10, f22, ISO 2500,24 mm, Centre Weighted

1/5, f22, ISO 2500,24 mm, Centre Weighted

1/8, f22, ISO 2500,24 mm, Centre Weighted

1/6, f22, ISO 2500,24 mm, Centre Weighted

1/4, f22, ISO 2500,24 mm, Centre Weighted

Selects

My selects include the typical congregation view and that of the Priest and Deacon.

1/4, f22, ISO 2500,24 mm, Centre Weighted

1/8, f22, ISO 2500,24 mm, Centre Weighted

1/5, f22, ISO 2500,24 mm, Centre Weighted

Exercise 2.6

Shallow depth of field

I have gone for the widest aperture I can with all of these images as I wanted my subjects to really stand out, whilst trying to keep in mind a sense of all round framing and composition. I have used a variety of different and unusual angles for the shots which has helped with the framing. Each individual shot has a clear main subject but there is also an element of interest within the background. This interest may be colour, shading or other objects which add to the images.

1/20, f2.8, ISO 800, 200mm, Centre Weighted

1/50, f2.8, ISO 800, 200mm, Centre Weighted

1/30, f2.8, ISO 800, 70mm, Centre Weighted

1/30, f2.8, ISO 800, 95mm, Centre Weighted

1/40, f2.8, ISO 1600, 180mm, Pattern

1/60, f2.8, ISO 1600, 200mm, Pattern

1/2500, f2.8, ISO 1600, 70mm, Spot

1/40, f2.8, ISO 1600, 70mm, Pattern

1/120, f2.8, ISO 1600, 70mm

My selects 

I am not going to comment on why these are my selects, as I do not want any of my comments to subtract anything from the images.

1/2500, f2.8, ISO 1600, 70mm, Spot

1/30, f2.8, ISO 800, 95mm, Centre Weighted

1/20, f2.8, ISO 800, 200mm, Centre Weighted

Exercise 2.5

Before I comment on the two images I want to explain how I was harassed by a security guard when taking these 2 images. The images were taken at the main multi storey car park in Rotherham. I parked on the top floor, as I knew I would get some decent views from up there and stand a chance of fulfilling the brief of this exercise. I had taken 2 images when this “gentleman” appeared, telling me I had to stop taking photographs as it was illegal. I asked why it was illegal to take pictures of the church, explained what I was doing and why, but all to no avail. I showed him the images to prove what I had taken. Rotherham has been in the news for all the wrong reasons, but this was way over the top. I asked him under what law it was illegal, but this appeared not to register and he just said he would have to get the police.

Later the same day I was shooting in Rotherham town and approached by the police and was asked to show them what I was doing. What a sad state of affairs this is. Anyway on with the images.

1/4000, f2.8, ISO 200, 70mm, Spot

1/4000, f2.8, ISO 200, 70mm, Spot

The shots were hand-held, so there is a slight movement in framing, but nothing substantial and nothing that interferes with the concept.

In the first image where the Parish Church (Church of England) and its’ surroundings are in focus your eye tries to ignore the white vertical lines and you are trying to filling the blanks. You look and acknowledge the background, with the foreground adding a sense of depth and maybe frustration that you cannot resolve the while of the image. The foreground is also used as framing for the main subject of the church.It also leaves me with a question when viewing this as to where this was taken. Why is this behind bars, what are the bars.

The second image makes me think less about the background as my eyes are ignoring the blurry parts of the image and I am left trying to resolve what are the bars, and what is the purpose and story behind the image. There is perhaps not enough interest generated by the bars, as there are static vertical lines. But I am asking myself again what is the purpose of this image and what its’ subject is.

The brief states the that if the focus point is in the foreground the image generally will feel more comfortable, which is something that I would normally agree with, but on this occasion, I feel my images do not conform to that viewpoint due to the nature of the foreground object.

Having reviewed the images on my blog I am now not convcined that I am right with my above statement. There is an air of ease about image 2, but I still think the first image works better due to the foreground object chosen.

 

Exercise 2.3

1/4, f22, ISO 2500, 24mm, Centre Weighted

1/30, f2.8, ISO 400, 24mm, Centre Weighted

1/30, f2.8, ISO 400, 24mm, Centre Weighted

For this exercise I have embedded 3 images and not one as per the brief, as I wanted to demonstrate the point. Two images show the distortion created by a close to subject, low view-point, where as the third image is a more traditional perspective one taken at head height. The wide aperture used with the low view-point extenuate the point, compared to the small aperture used in the head height shot image.

I did not have a model to photograph, but I feel these 2 images clearly demonstrate how a low, close, wide shot may not be best pleasing for a portrait. This does not mean it cannot be done, depending on you are wanting to portray. Use of such technique in portrait photography is created in such applications as “Photobooth” and are used as a technique for amusement. The use of such perspective can be helpful when creating fun portraits, but they would not generally be classed as aesthetically pleasing and normally not adopted.  I have not seen this in any marketing imagery due to the lack of “want” created in this type of image.

The distance from the main subjects to the background has become expansive, with the 2 subjects standing out (aperture resultant), but looking larger than life and slightly odd, although not altogether unattractive. The lines of the roof and the other lines are quite strong converging diagonals that would have met had the Church been longer.

I will not generally use this technique/combination in the majority of my portraiture work, but may use this as an ocasional bit of fun or when distortion is needed.

 

 

Exercise 2.1

Well, for this exercise I have decided to go for something different. I have decided to shoot this in our Church. Being a “Greek” Orthodox Christian is somewhat unusual for a Brit, so it gives me a chance to share the beauty and tranquility of our Church. It also adds some seriality to my work as there are a number of exercises that have been shot in there. One of my previous feedback points was to continue shooting things that are of interest to me, hence my choice of this location.

There is also some madness in this method! The lighting is not the best in there as it is predominately dark, with bursts of strong light from the East and South (the iconstasis is situated at the east end of the Church) as the sun rises and moves throughout the day. The windows are relatively small and play havoc with the sensor. This made me ramp up the ISO to get something like a well exposed image. As per the brief Aperture Priority has been used for all images, so that will be excluded from any exif data as that will be taken as a given.

The images were taken with a Nikon D300s in conjunction with a Nikon 70-200 f2.8. This effectively increased the focal length by 50% due to the Dx sensor in the D300s. A tripod was used to assist with the framing and the shutter speed needed with a large focal length. White Balance was set to auto.

1/40, f2.8, ISO 1600, 70mm, Centre Weighted.

1/40, f2.8, ISO 1600, 86mm, Centre Weighted.

1/40, f2.8, ISO 1600, 102mm, Centre Weighted.

1/40, f2.8, ISO 1600, 135mm, Centre Weighted.

1/30, f2.8, ISO 1600, 170mm, Centre Weighted.

1/30, f2.8, ISO 1600, 200mm, Centre Weighted.

The images have not been edited and are displayed as shot.

None of the images really match what is seen by the eye due to the focal length used. On the D300s a 50mm Dx lens or a 35mm f lens (1.5 x 13) would give a similar view to what can be seen by the eye, but the lens used here is much longer. I chose the longer lens due to its’ speed and I was shooting with 2 cameras on this occasion, which meant I did not have to swap lenses frequently. The other camera on the go was my Nikon D750 and was coupled my Tamron 24-70mm f2.8. Images taken in the Church with this camera will figure in later exercises.

To best see the effect of moving through the doors, quickly click on the image in the slide show and it will move you through the series and through the door. I have decided to lay the images out as thumbnails, as this assists when looking at the geometry of using . I think you can see there is no real change in geometric shaping, and with each subsequent image takes you through the Deacon’s Door to the prothesis table. The prothesis is a mini “altar”, where the priest completes a number of duties, which include preparing the communion bread, and saying prayers for the living and dead. Only Orthodox Christian men are allowed behind the doors.

The lights above the prothesis table have created some highlight clipping, which is not desirable but they did assist with the overall lighting and they created the look I was after, which was to highlight and focus on the cross. Flashes should not be used in Church and all stands etc should not be moved without the perimssion of the Priest.

I kept the aperture the same throughout as I wanted consistency of settings and the effect of reducing depth of field would become more apparent at longer focal lengths. I believe this has happened as the edge of the doors do not affect the images apart from acting as a frame within a frame.

I believe this illustrates what happens when you use a long lens and a fixed view-point.

 

 

Camera Lucida – Roland Barthes

Having just finished Roland Barthes’ book, Camera Lucida, I find myself reaching for the paracetamols. I do not consider to be a new comer to the art of reading, but maybe I am! This was a heavy book with some strange concepts that I can just about grasp.

What I can take out of this book, is his phrases and meaning of studium, punctum, stigmatum and noeme and how these have to be present (for him) if a photograph will cause him to linger and have any interest in it. I am not going to expand on these terms, as I feel, you are best reading the book yourself. See my reference list that will be published upon completion of Part Two for the book’s details.

Another point that is clear, is Barthes has a dislike of captions or titles on a photograph, something which I had done earlier in Part One. I will try where possible from now on, following the same feedback from my tutor to keep the written word away from my images.

Studium, punctum, stigmatum and noeme, will be at the forefront of my mind when taking an photograph and I will see how these points figure in any future images. They do not have to be present in an image and are one person’s thoughts. They do however have some form of validity and I just about understand his thought process.

Let’s see if this has an influence, other than on my need for self medication, on my future work. Below is one of my favourite shots (love the juxtaposition and the potential story here) from the book and this can be found at ;-

https://lolaclairmont.com/2011/05/11/critique-of-roland-barthes-camera-lucida/ accessed 11/10/2016

Part Two. Imaginative Spaces background research.

The weather outside is only suitable for ducks with waterproof thermal underwear, so I have spent the morning with some research which will give me a good grounding with Part Two. On reading the tutorial section in full again, it appears as the this will be dedicated to depth of field. My camera is set to Aperture Priority and I most certainly will not be using Auto ISO. Please watch this space as my work will include people, one of my points I have picked up from previous projects. The start to Part Two is a excise in history and has been fascinating. This will be my first post on research for this Part of the course.

The First Pinhole Photographs

“Sir David Brewster, a Scottish scientist, was one of the first to make pinhole photographs, in the 1850s. He also coined the very word “pinhole”, or “pin-hole” with a hyphen, which he used in his book The Stereoscope, published in 1856. Joseph Petzval used the term “natural camera” in 1859, whereas Dehors and Deslandres, in the late 1880s, proposed the term “stenopaic photography”. In French today “sténopé” is used for the English “pinhole”. In Italian a pinhole camera is called “una fotocamera con foro stenopeico”. In German “Lochkamera” and “Camera obscura” are used. The Scandinavian languages tend to use the English “pinhole” as a model – “hullkamera”/”holkamera”/”hålkamera”, though “camera obscura” is also found, and is the term preferred by myself in Norwegian.”

Image and text courtesy of http://photo.net/pinhole/frisius.htm accessed 11/10/2016.

Is this lady the first female photographer?

Anna Atkins 1799-1871. She self-published her “photograms” in  Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions in October 1843.

Image courtesy of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Atkins accessed 11/10/2016.

“Compared to other photographic printing processes, cyanotype is easy and inexpensive. No darkroom is needed, instead it uses the power of the sun and iron salt solutions rather than the silver salt solution of black and white photography. Ferric ammonium citrate and potassium ferricyanide are combined, and exposure to UV light creates ferric ferrocyanide, also known as Prussian Blue (named for the color of the Prussian military uniforms.) The cyanotype process was also used to create copies of technical and architectural plans, and these copies were called blueprints; even though the cyanotype process is no longer used, any construction document or detailed plan is still referred to as a blueprint.”

Text courtesy of http://blog.phillipscollection.org/2012/05/04/what-is-a-cyanotype/ accessed 11/10/2016.

“Laszlo Moholy-Nagy. American, born Hungary, 1895-1946. Laszlo Moholy-Nagy possessed one of the liveliest and most versatile minds to come out of the revolution in artistic thinking that occurred in Europe after the First World War. In addition to being a painter, designer, and photographer, Moholy was perhaps the most persuasive and effective theoretician of the concept of art education that grew out of the Bauhaus, the experimental design school that flowered briefly in Germany during the days of the Weimar Republic.”

Image by Maholy-Nagy

The Bauhaus (modernised)

“The State Bauhaus was founded by Walter Gropius as a school of arts in Weimar in 1919. As the Bauhaus was a combination of crafts and arts, its nature and concept was regarded as something completely new back then. Today, the historical Bauhaus is the most influential educational establishment in the fields of architecture, art and design. The Bauhaus existed from 1919 to 1933 and today the world considers it to be the home of the avant-guard of classical modern style in all fields of liberal and applied arts. The resonance of the Bauhaus can still be felt today, essentially characterizing the image of German design abroad.”

Images and text courtesy of http://www.magazine.bauhaus-movement.com accessed 11/10/2016.

…to be continued.

 

 

Reflection, self critique and general around comments on Assignment 1 and Projects 1, 2 & 3.

I have added this image as a pre-amble to my reflection as it makes me smile. I shot this on holiday in Crete in July 2016. The more I look at it the stranger it feels. Let me know what you think.

A photograph is like a watch or a clock, it is a device for telling/capturing the time. How well the time is told will depend on how emotive/enjoyable the photo is to the viewer.

What does an image have to tell us for it to be a good image? If I find this out, will you agree with me? Maybe not. Photography is nothing to someone but everything to someone else. Opinions cannot be wrong, in my opinion

Photography has not changed since its’ inception in so much as it records time, yes this took much longer at first, but it is still a form of time travel. Some loved the art (if it is art) and some did not as is the same now

What I do know is that there is an amazing amount of photography out there and that I need to find a way for my photography to be enjoyed. This is still an elusive task. I have spent much of the last month reading and looking at other people’s work. Some does not inspire, some does. So what is the inspiration? This I will find as I travel through the course.

My own images to date have been boring and un-inspirational, but they have so far served me well, as I do not plan to repeat the mundane nature of my images.

composition was the focus of the first part of the course from points to lines and the use of the frame and I feel that there is no right or wrong way to use what is at your disposal but sometimes your images may need further justification. However, be careful when using captions as this may close down the thoughts of the viewer.

The language some experts use to explain photography has amused me, such as Barthes, where I have spent may an hour reading and then using the dictionary to understand what he means. I hope my amusement turns from ignorance to understanding and then appreciation. Some of the books read, including Barthes and Berger’s will need to be re-read when my understanding and knowledge has been increased. Sometimes they are too heavy for me and hard to read.

My book library has massively expanded and I am now £100 lightter in the pocket but the books are worth it and will keep me busy for a while and be a great future reference.

Blogging is a new feature to me. This seemed an odd habit to develop but now I love it and update this on a regular basis. It is cathartic and I feel happy to almost bare my soul.

Referencing is also new to me and I have found doing this on a regular basis is the key.

I have found working in the P mode with my camera very strange, as I never use it, preferring to be totally manual, but it does emphasise the point of how the first images were developed and the issues photography had. Toda’ys instruments are so much more complex, to the point of ridicule, yet the still record the moment and are bound by a frame!!!

There has been a real trend with my images on the blog so far, and that is they are almost devoid of people. This will be turned round on the next section of the course.

I have been studying an American photographer called John Crossley, who is an up and coming photographer. His images actually speak to me. They convey emotion and presence and are mainly street photography, with some conceptual work in there. I have also enjoyed looking at he works of Edward Weston and a number of others I have referenced.

My challenge is to ensure my work is more people centric and to try to get my images to speak to me and maybe they will speak to others too.

I have been too rigid in my choice of subject and have I been shy/afraid of people?

Time has been disappearing and I feel I have spent too much time of the theory and not enough practical work. This will change as above.

Am I too self critical or am I honest?  I don’t have the answer, but I am well short of where I want to be. I do not have a style yet, which I so want to develop. There is no seriality. This will come. I have no genre, that is my favourite and I would like to develop this theme. This will come. I would like to work in photography, but doing exactly what, I am not sure. This will come.

What I am sure of is, I have the desire and the determination to improve and progress, technically and artistically.

Have I enjoyed what I have done? Yes.

Can I do better? Yes, most definitely.

Reference List for Projects 1,2 & 3

1000 words photography (2016) LensCulture – Contemporary Photography, Available at: http://www.1000wordsmag.com (Accessed: 02/10/2016).

Alek (2016) alek, Available at: http://www.alek.nl/portraits (Accessed: 01/10/16).

Alexander, J (Unknown) Jesse Alexander Photography, Available at: http://www.jessealexanderphotography.co.uk/index.html (Accessed: 30/09/16).

Ang, T (2007) Digital Photography, An introduction, 2nd edn., Aylesford, Kent, United Kingdom: Sands Publishing Solution.

Art Blatt (2009) Jpegs: Photographs by Thomas Ruff | Art Blatt, Available at: https://artblart.com/tag/jpegs-photographs-by-thomas-ruff/ (Accessed: 04/10/2016).

Barthes, R (2000) Camera Lucida, 5th edn., London, England: Random House.

Berger J (2013) Understanding a Photograph, 1st edn., London, England: Penguin Books.

Berger, J (2008) Ways of Seeing, 2nd edn., London, England: Penguin Group.

BJP (2016) British Journal of Photography, Available at: http://www.bjp-online.com (Accessed: 02/10/2016).

Camera Austria (2016) Camera Austria, Available at: http://camera-austria.at (Accessed: 02/10/2016).

Campany, D (2016) Thomas Ruff: Aesthetic of the pixel | David Company, Available at: http://davidcampany.com/thomas-ruff-the-aesthetics-of-the-pixel/ (Accessed: 03/10/2016).

Colberg, J (17/04/2019) Conscientious | review ; jpegs by Thomas Ruff, Available at: http://jmcolberg.com/weblog/2009/04/review_jpegs_by_thomas_ruff/ (Accessed: 03/10/2016).

Crossley, J (26/09/2016) Photos by John Crossley – photo net, Available at: http://photo.net/photos/johncrosley (Accessed: 04/10/2016).

Freeman, M (2009) Perfect Exposure, 1st edn., Lewes, East Sussex, United Kingdom: Ilex-Press.

Jeffrey, I (2003) Photography A Concise History, 2nd edn., London, United Kingdom: Thames & Hudson.

Lacock Abbey (Unknown) Fox Talbot Museum in Wiltshire, Available at: http://foxtalbot.co.uk (Accessed: 08/10/2016).

Lloyd, L (2016) Lisa Lloyd Photography, Available at: http://www.lisalloydphotography.co.uk (Accessed: 02/10/2016).

Metropolitan Museum of Art (2016) The Bauhaus 1919-1933 Essay, Available at: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/bauh/hd_bauh.htm (Accessed: 10/10/2016).

Monaghan, L (2017) Les Monaghan, Available at: http://lesmonaghan.blogspot.co.uk (Accessed: 01/10/2016).

Not known (2015) Harold Evans – Official Website, Available at: http://www.sirharoldevans.com (Accessed: 07/10/2016).

Photography School Speos (Unknown) Daguerre and the Invention of Photography, Available at: http://www.photo-museum.org/daguerre-invention-photo/ (Accessed: 08/10/2016).

Photography school Speos (Unknown) The Life of Nicephore Niepce, Available at: http://www.photo-museum.org (Accessed: 03/10/2016).

Raffaele Montepaone (2016) LensCulture – Contemporary Photography, Available at: https://www.lensculture.com/explore/editors-pick?modal=project-295761-life (Accessed: 02/10/2016).

Rapp, A (2014) Ken Schles: A Suspension of Memory, Available at: http://stories.daylight.co/DD1316/ (Accessed: 02/10/2016).

Source (2016) What is conceptual photography, Available at: http://www.source.ie/feature/what_is_conceptual.html (Accessed: 02/10/2016).

Stansfield, A (2012) Understanding Exposure, 2nd edn., Lewes, East Sussex, United Kingdom: Ammonite Press.

The Weston family (2016) Home – edward-westom.com, Available at: http://edward-weston.com (Accessed: 06/10/2016).